An Enemy No Longer
by oren-lahm
Summary: GaaraLee. Lee is in the hospital recovering from his fight with Gaara during the Chunin exams when something strange happens. He gets a visit from someone unexpected which begins to lead to something more.
1. Mysterious Visitor

Ok, this is pretty much my first fanfic ever, so please, try not to go too harsh with flames. Anyways, this takes place ater the Chunin exams but before Lee runs off to fight Kimimaro.

Disclaimer: Rock Lee, Maito Gai, Tsunade, and Subaku no Gaara do not and probably never ever will belong to me. Unless I somehow am related to Masashi Kishimoto and I inherit the manga and anime and... Ok, let's get onwith the story.

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Rock Lee awoke from his sleep to the startling sound and sudden jolt of a green figure stumbling into his sectioned-off hospital bed. "Gai-sensei!" Lee said as he realized who the man was.

"Lee!" Maito Gai shouted back to his student. He leapt up to the side of the bed and hugged Lee, ignoring his winces. "Lee, I'm so happy for you!"

"Gai sensei, thank you so much! Without you, I might not have accepted the surgery." Both Lee and Gai had tears streaming down their faces. Tsunade the Fifth laughed as she saw the two. Neither of them had realized that she was standing just inside of the curtain barrier.

"Tsunade-sama, I cannot thank you enough for recovering my adorable student!" Lee nodded in agreement with his teacher.

"He's not fully recovered yet, though he is making good progress. He'll be able to start training again soon," she said softly, admiring their praise. "Anyways, it's time for Lee to take his medicine." Lee groaned as she handed him a tan bottle of the liquid medicine. "Make sure you drunk all of it"

Lee sighed. "Fine…" He watched the new Hokage leave before turning to his teacher. "Do I really have to drink it, sensei?" he asked his teacher. Gai nodded.

"Lee, you have to get strong. I know it tastes bad, but--" Gai was cut off by a man who appeared at the curtain.

"Gai, I need to speak to you," the man said. Lee could tell he was a Jounin for he wore a green vest just like Gai-sensei did. Gai stood up, waiting for him to speak, but instead he motioned for him to come outside of the curtained area. He sighed and followed the man who began whispering. Lee tried to listen in, but since he wasn't fully recovered yet, and still healing, he couldn't make out what they were saying. A few minutes later Lee's teacher walked back in without his usual smile.

"Lee, I'm sorry but I must take leave."

"Wha-? Why, sensei?" Lee pleaded. He had been looking forward to spending the day with his teacher.

"Orochimaru has been spotted and they're gathering Jounin to try and capture him." His eyes began to well up again, this time with tears of sadness. "Lee, I promise that I will come back to see you, no matter what!" He struck the good-guy pose and hugged Lee one last time before saying goodbye and leaving with the Jounin.

Lee laid his head back on his pillow, closing his eyes. _Maybe I should go to sleep…_ he thought. He didn't know if he could. Everything was so quiet, except for… what was that? Lee couldn't place it due to his condition, so he opened his eyes. The source was easily spotted, moving around his bed and beginning to creep up the side of his bed.

It was sand.

A figure came into view. Lee could have spotted him anywhere and wasn't happy to see him. Why was _he_ here? Lee didn't smile as he looked directly into the boy's black rimmed eyes and stated his name.

"Gaara."

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That's it for chapter one. I know it's not much but if people want me to update it, I will. Reviews would be nice.


	2. Why Is It?

Second chapter... I tried to make it longer than the first and hopefully I succeeded!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned them. But sadly, I do not... :(

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"Lee." Gaara said back, looking at the boy. He seemed different, not dressed in his normal green unitard. Gaara's gaze was undisrupted as he still controlled the sand to climb up the side of the bed and slither around on the bed spread.

"Why are you here?" Lee demanded. Gaara was probably the person he wanted to see least right now. Gaara didn't have a scratch anywhere on him, which made Lee angry, considering it looked like he hadn't even been touched.

Gaara shrugged. "Visiting." Lee was taken aback. Was Gaara really that coldhearted to almost kill someone and then come visit him in the hospital like he had done nothing?

Pretty much.

But then again Lee did try to kill him with his Primary Lotus…..

"I doubt that you're really here to visit, Gaara. You don't seem like the type of person to give their sympathy," Lee said defiantly.

"Who said I was here out of sympathy?" the other boy asked. Lee could feel the sand still crawling up him, now making its way towards his neck. He tried to show no signs of panic, but he didn't want to get killed, let alone injured again. Lee looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I want to know something."

The boy in the bed was confused. He wanted to know something? What could this redhead possibly learn from him? Gaara seemed to be troubled by finding his next words. His eyes widened and he took a long moment, as if to think about something. Lee could see the slightest hint of Gaara's arms shaking. "I… would like to know… how it is…

…you are loved."

The sand clasped around Lee's neck, forcing his body to lay flat on the bed and not move an inch. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something to do, how to get out of this. But his arm and leg hurt too much. "Gaa-!" Lee stopped his sentence for when he opened his eyes, Gaara was less than an inch from his face, his blue eyes staring straight into his black ones.

"Tell me." Gaara demanded in a low tone. He was shaking badly now. "Or I will kill you and your sensei." Shukaku was starting to take control… Lee closed his eyes again and struggled to move but couldn't find any strength within his body. He could feel the sand slithering into his mouth now. But wait…. I didn't _feel _like sand… It was wet and wasn't grainy like sand should be….

It was Gaara.

Gaara had used the sand to hold Lee down as he kissed him, exploring his mouth with his tongue. Lee realized this and struggled even more, feeling pain shoot through his limbs. He had become exhausted and finally gave up and stopped struggling. Gaara pulled his head back and looked at the boy. "You are lucky, Lee."

Lee could feel relief as the sand crawled back into the gourd on Gaara's back. He laid on his bed, unmoving except for his short breaths. "W-why am I lucky…?" he asked softly.

"Because you have so many people to care for you." With that, Gaara left, using his ninjutsu to disappear. Lee was stunned. Why had Gaara kissed him? Would he be back anytime soon? He had too many questions going through his mind all at once. But he did know one thing.

Gaara wanted to be loved.

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Tsunade pulled back Lee's curtain, exposing Lee's bed to the rest of the room he was in. She was glad to find an empty bottle of medicine on his nightstand and a sleeping Lee in the bed. She smiled and turned to the girl with pink hair who stood beside her. "Here you are, Sakura-chan." The girl with green eyes nodded and thanked the Fifth.

"Lee-san…" she said after Tsunade left, " I hope you're feeling better…." In her arms she had a daffodil, especially picked for Lee. She placed it into the vase on the nightstand. Next to the vase was Lee's red headband. Sakura picked it up and studied the fabric, wondering why it was red and not blue like the rest.

She smiled and put the headband back, now turning her attention to the sleeping Lee. "I'm sorry, Lee-san, but I promised Naruto I would help him with his training today." She bowed her head in acknowledgement before leaving the room.

Sakura had a strange, sinister feeling as she walked to the lobby of the hospital. Several times she turned her head and was disappointed to find nothing there. As she exited the building, she could have sworn she heard something being whispered , but she assumed it was the wind and went on her way.

The noise she heard was this:

"Don't visit him again, or I'll kill you."

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Reviews on this chapter would be lovely!

Uh-oh... Gaara is succumbing to... TEEN LOVE! dies


	3. Training Too Hard

"895! 896! 897!" Lee shouted as he struck the worn down stump, repeating his goal over and over in his mind. _If I don't make it to 1000, then I'll strike every tree in the Konoha village 15 times each! _Lee was recovering nicely and was now able to do almost everything he could before. It had been nearly a month since Sakura had visited him in the hospital. Lee didn't understand why she hadn't come again, so he settled on the idea that she had no way of getting there.

It had also been a while since he last heard anything about Gaara. Lee was grateful for that, hoping that the boy wouldn't try to visit him again anytime soon. Once Lee was fully recovered, however, he would seek out the red head and fight him fairly.

"986! 987! 988!" Lee was almost there, not realizing the figure lurking in the brush behind him. When he had become aware of the other beings presence, he forced himself to continue before turning around and scanning the area. The figure peered from in between leaves and tried to stay silent as she watched Lee look around. She stood up, giving Lee relief when he saw her green eyes, pink hair, and soft hands holding a dangling flower.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee said, blushing. "You haven't stopped by since you came to drop the flower off which I never got to thank you for. " Sakura sighed.

"Sorry I didn't stop by. Something… happened and I couldn't see you for a while," she said, remembering what she heard when she last saw him. "I brought you another flower but I noticed you weren't hurt anymore…" Lee smiled and his face reddened ever more.

"That's ok, I was just about to finish up here anyways." The Green Beast walked up to her and took the flower from her hands, studying it carefully. It was different from the last one and was a deep orange, matching the color of the summer sunset. Lee liked how she came to see him but he couldn't understand why she had. Sakura didn't have any reason at all unless... No, she wouldn't for that. She didn't like him. The girl probably came out of pity or-

There it was again. The faint and familiar sound of what could only be trickling sand. Lee's eyes widened and he backed away from Sakura, dropping the flower on the ground. The girl was confused. "Lee-san…?"

"Get out of here now, Sakura!" Lee said, looking around for the gourd of where it came. She trusted the boy and began to sprint off in which the direction from which she came. Lee watched her run off, not dropping his guard. "Sabaku no Gaara! I know you are here, so you might as well show yourself!" he said, putting one arm behind his back and the other palm up.

The clearing in which he was standing wasn't too big and anyone else in it would be easy to spot. Without realizing it, the sand had wrapped around his feet, trapping him to the ground. He struggled to get out, pulling on his leg and trying to kick his foot out. "Damn it, Gaara!" he shouted into the air.

Suddenly, Lee's arms were trapped. Not by the sand but by someone else, holding him from behind. How could he-? Lee dropped his guard without realizing it and had fallen directly into a trap. Gaara was standing behind him, gripping Lee's arms with his own. The green boy struggled, thrashing his body around, but the redhead's grip nor the sand's grip loosened.

Gaara twisted Lee's right arm back slightly, causing him to shout in pain and stop struggling. "I would rather not hurt you," his sleek voice said in a low tone. Lee leaned back into the other boy's chest, surprised to find how close Gaara was to him.

"You know, Gaara… Not everyone loves me…" Lee said, trying to regain himself. Gaara was struck at the word 'love'. Of course everyone did…. Sakura brought him flowers, his sensei was ecstatic to see him… No one had ever shown him something like that… only his mother, and she was long gone. Gaara loosened his grip. Lee slid down so that he was sitting on the ground with the sand still around his ankles.

"Then how come no one has ever done something for me…? I don't understand… why people treat me different…" Gaara slid to his knees, still staying behind Lee so the boy would have something lean on in case his ankles began to ache, which they did.

"Well for one thing, you don't have to go around killing people when they piss you off…" Lee said in a nasty tone. Gaara's hand twitched at the natural impulse to use his sand, but he refused. Lee meant something more to him, but he wasn't exactly sure what. He didn't want to kill him, that would only make himself more upset. But he was envious of the boy. He wanted to be included. He wanted to love someone.

Lee leaned back again drowsily. He had trained to hard and struggled too much against the rough sand. The Green Beast didn't want to fall asleep, he couldn't drop his guard now. He looked at Gaara's pale blue eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you." was all Gaara said. That was all the boy needed and within moments he was fast asleep. Gaara smiled and admired the sleeping boy. By now it was nearly dark and someone would come looking for Lee soon, most likely his sensei. Gaara put the sand around Lee's ankles back into his gourd and stood up, carefully placing Lee on the ground without disturbing him.

Gaara leapt up into the trees and hurried back to Baki after saying one last thing to the sleeping boy.

"Lee, I love you."


	4. Curry and Tears

First, I want to say thank you all for the wonderful reviews! And to answer a question, Sakura is (or was) starting to like Lee just a bit. This chapter is (hopefully) a bit longer than the others as someone requested. I apologize in advance for those who like Sakura and I suggest that if you do, you stop reading this now. Other than that I don't really have anything to say except that I think curry is disgusting. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, cause I had fun writing it!

Disclaimer: Naruto is too genious to have been made by me.

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The marketplace seemed to be more busy and crowded then it usually was as Haruno Sakura strolled through the streets of Konoha. She smiled at two small boys who were fighting over the last shopping basket available. Everybody seemed so lively out in the fresh air where the sun wasn't too hot, but just right. "Lucky I got all my shopping done early," Sakura thought. She looked up at the sky and realized that it must've been noon time.

Instead of going home for lunch, the pink-headed girl decided to eat outside since the weather was just too nice to stay crammed inside all day. She sat down on a patch of soft green grass growing beneath a tall tree, setting down her wicker basket full of goods. Out of it she pulled a plump, round apple and bit into it fiercely. The sweet juice tasted so nice and before she knew it, her green eyes were staring at a browning apple core.

Sakura put the core back into the basket, straightened out her skirt, and leaned back against the tree, looking up at its thick branches. It seemed so peaceful, now that most of the crowd had gone home to eat and all that lingered was the sound of the leaves rustling and the occasional laugh from a child. "Mom won't be mad if I rest…" she said to herself, yawning and beginning to drift off to sleep against the hard trunk of the old tree.

Her eyes shot open as a pale hand slipped over her mouth and a kunai made its way to her neck. Panic flowed through her body; she couldn't see who the attacker was and no one was around to help her. She did the only thing that came to mind. Biting into the soft flesh of the hand covering her mouth, she realized her attacker was a male by the sound of his scream. But that's all she could figure before the kunai was sliced into her throat with one quick motion.

"_I told you I would kill you."_

Her attacker smiled wickedly and hopped into the tree above, leaving Sakura's lifeless body behind to rot.

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News of Sakura's death had swept over Konoha within the next few days. Soon everyone, including the other villages, knew that the Haruno girl had been murdered, but no one knew who had done it. This began to rise up fear within the villages and Konoha didn't know whether the attacker was from another village or one of their own.

Lee wouldn't believe what he had heard. She just couldn't be dead…. Not her…. Not Sakura. For a few days, Lee wouldn't talk to anyone, only Gai-sensei and that was only to try and see if it was all a joke. He couldn't seem to accept the fact that the girl he liked was dead. And on top of that, he didn't like that he had seen Gaara again. Or rather Gaara saw him. The boy was odd, following Lee around from time to time. Sometimes Lee would catch a red blur out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look, it was gone.

A while passed before Lee got over the death. Konoha and the other villages were still busy trying to figure out who had done it, occasionally saying they had a suspect, but soon enough found out that they hadn't committed the sin. Gossip was spreading around the village and it was almost impossible to go to the market without hearing the words "murder", "Sakura", and "suspect". But after three months, Lee was finally able to stop wincing every time he heard her name.

As the Beautiful Green Beast began to continue his normal everyday life, he kept seeing more things out of the corner of his eye. He figured out by now that it was a person and not just himself gong insane. The person just never seemed to let Lee get a good enough look of him.

The boy came home from his training one day to find a large package placed on his doorstep. Puzzled, Lee took it in and opening it slowly, checking for any traps or jutsus that could have been hidden within it. When it appeared to be safe, Lee looked inside and forgot about his troubles as he realized that package was from Sanshou-baasan. It was the Curry of Life! Lee became thrilled and heated it up before delving into it. His face became beet red and he exclaimed how delicious it was, startling Gai-sensei who had just walked in. Gai laughed and smiled at Lee's enthusiasm. It was nice to have Lee back to normal, even if it was for a bit. "Remind me to thank Sanshou-baasan next time we go to the Curry of Life Shop!" Lee told his teacher between mouthfuls.

Gai nodded. "So, I guess you're feeling better. I wanted to check up on you. To see how you were holding up." Lee sighed, placing his empty plate on the wooden table. True, Lee was feeling better, but there was some emotion deep inside of him that wasn't right. He shook the feeling and look up at Gai.

"Will you go training tomorrow with me?" he asked. Gai shook his head sullenly.

"They told me to report to Tsunade-sama for an important mission, but I promise I will train with you as soon as I return!" he replied, striking the good-guy pose. Lee smiled and gave him the thumbs-up back to him.

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Later that night, Lee laid in his bed in green flannel pajamas. His window was open, letting the cool breeze flow in, circulating the room. The boy was not asleep however. Moonlight shone through the window and plastered his face with a diffused glow. The town was so quiet at the moment and it seemed as if nothing could break the silence.

Unfortunately, the peacefulness was shattered as Lee yelped in surprise and pain. Something grabbed his ankle and shot pain up his calf. He looked down at his feet to see sand laying sprawled over his bed and floor. When and how had-?

A loud thump had come from the roof and through his window a figure climbed in and fell on the floor. It took Lee no time to realize that the figure was Sabaku no Gaara and he was in pain. Gaara's hand gripped his red hair as if it was the only thing left he had to hold on to and the rest of his body was half-curled into a ball. Lee, got up and ran over to Gaara, forgetting that he hated him for the moment. "Gaara!" he screamed to the boy having a mental meltdown.

Gaara's arm shot out and gripped Lee's sleeve, turning his knuckles a ghostly white. "Gaara! It's alright! Calm down!" Lee repeated these things to him over and over again until he finally relaxed his grip and laid motionless on the hard floor. "Come on, you need to rest," Lee said, helping the struggling Gaara onto his bed. "Now you stay here." Gaara gave him a stale look and said nothing.

In seven seconds flat, Lee had gotten the extra Curry of Life and brought it upstairs. Thankfully it was still warm from earlier as he held the plate out to Gaara. "Eat."

"No."

Gaara gave him a stern look. "I'm not eating." Then Lee remembered how much he hated him. He threw the plate at Gaara, who caught it just before it spilled.

"Eat." Lee's tone was nastier now and more demanding.

"Why?'

"…"

"…"

"Because. It'll make you feel better."

Gaara looked down at the black goo and rice on his plate. It didn't look like anything he'd seen before, and it also looked like it was moving. Regretfully, he picked up his spoon and scooped up the curry, holding it up to his face and examining it. But then he turned to Lee. "Why do you want to heal me?"

Lee froze. He didn't really know why, and he didn't think that he actually _did_ want Gaara to heal. Gaara was after him for something. "Oh, just eat it already!" was the only thing he could think to say before storming out of his room and down into the dining room so he wouldn't have to look at the redhead.

Gaara watched Lee exit the room with his pale blue eyes. He sighed and turned back to the plate on his lap and the spoon still in his hand. "Just one bite, for Lee…" he told himself, bringing the spoon close to his mouth. As the substance slid down his throat, he paused, only to realize that the curry was probably the most disgusting thing he had ever tasted. It burned the inside of his mouth with its hot spices and he finally knew why Lee had left.

The boy appeared at the door with a glass of water. "Here." Gaara took it gratefully, downing the whole glass and put it and the plate on the table near Lee's bed. "Why are you following me?" he said directly, which was unusual since he would always work up to his questions.

"I told you when you were asleep," Gaara said remembering the time they had last met.

"Telling me while I'm sleeping doesn't help me," Lee said defiantly. "What did you say then?"

"I love you."

"Wha-?"

"That's what I told you."

Lee was awestruck. He was following him because…? No that couldn't be it. He was a Shinobi who would see through this deception. "You're lying…"

"No, I'm not. I don't lie, you can ask Kankuro and Temari if you wish."

Lee couldn't think of anything to say. He had always wanted Sakura to-

"_You_ killed her."

"Yes," Gaara responded simply.

The green boy collapsed on the floor in disbelief. Unshed tears welled up in his eyes and soon Lee didn't think he would be able to stop crying before the room flooded. Gaara just sat on the bed looking at him. "W-Why…?"

"Because she was getting in the way."

"No! She wasn't!" Lee screamed at him. "You're a…" he paused, "just get out of here!" Gaara nodded and headed towards the window, wondering why he hadn't used 'monster'. With one last look at the crying Lee, he hopped up on the sill and gathered the sand that had been unmoving and all over the room.

Lee felt a great deal of relief when Gaara exited the room. He got up and wiped his eyes, even though tears still flowed. He got on his bed and laid down on the soft covers. Long after the tears had stopped, he finally found the refuge he needed in his dreams.

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I warned all of the Sakura-lovers, so please don't flame me for it, but I personally don't like Skura myself. So reviews on this chapter would be nice and I think that the next chapter will be the last, i'm sorry to say. :(


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